26.20
Tarraco was now his headquarters. From
there he paid visits to the friendly tribes, and also inspected the winter
quarters of the army. He praised them warmly for having maintained their
hold on the province after sustaining two such terrible blows, and also for
keeping the enemy to the south of the Ebro, thereby depriving them of any
advantages from their victories, and also affording protection to their own
friends. Marcius, whom he kept with him, he treated with so much honour
that it was perfectly obvious that Scipio had not the slightest fear of his
reputation being dimmed by anybody. Soon afterwards Silanus succeeded
Nero and the new troops were sent into winter quarters. After making all the
necessary visits and inspections and completing the preparations for the next
campaign Scipio returned to Tarraco. His reputation was quite as great
among the enemy as among his own countrymen; there was amongst the
former a foreboding, a vague sense of fear which was all the stronger
because no reason for it could be given. The Carthaginian armies withdrew
into their respective winter-quarters: Hasdrubal, the son of Gisgo, to Gades
on the coast, Mago into the interior above the forest of Castulo, Hasdrubal,
the son of Hamilcar, near the Ebro in the neighbourhood of Saguntum. This
summer, marked by two important events, the recovery of Capua and the
despatch of Scipio to Spain, was drawing to a close when a Carthaginian
fleet was sent from Sicily to Tarentum to intercept supplies from the Roman
garrison in the citadel. It certainly succeeded in blocking all access to the
citadel from the sea, but the longer it remained the greater was the scarcity
amongst the townspeople as compared with that amongst the Romans in the
citadel. For though the coast was clear and open access was secured to the
harbour by the Carthaginian fleet, it was impossible to convey to the
population of the city as much corn as was consumed by the crowd of
sailors, drawn from every class, on board the fleet. The garrison in the
citadel, on the other hand, being only a small body, were able to exist on
what they had previously laid in, without any external supply. At length the
ships were sent away, and their departure was hailed with more delight than
their arrival had been. But the scarcity was not in the slightest degree
lessened, for when their protection was withdrawn, corn could not be
brought in at all.
